Scott's biographer
Roland Huntford described Evans as "a huge, bull-necked beefy figure" and a "beery womanizer" who was "running a bit to fat" by the time of Scott's second expedition in
Terra Nova. Evans was nearly left behind in
New Zealand when he drunkenly fell into the water while boarding the ship. However, Evans was a favorite of Scott, who decided to overlook the incident.
Scott chose Evans as a member of his polar party, together with Lieutenant
Henry Robertson Bowers, Lawrence Oates, and Dr.
Edward Adrian Wilson. They reached the
South Pole on
January 17, 1912, but their return journey became a desperate affair. Evans had cut his hand in an accident as they were nearing the pole, and the wound did not heal properly. During the return journey Evans began to deteriorate mentally as well as physically, and may have suffered a head injury in a fall into a
crevasse on
February 4, 1912, which caused his condition to worsen rapidly. By this time he was also suffering badly from
frostbite in his fingers and nose.
On
February 16, 1912, nearing the base of the
Beardmore Glacier, Evans collapsed. The next morning, unable to keep up, he was left behind while the others went ahead man-hauling the sledge towards the next supply depot; they had to make a return journey to fetch him on the empty sledge. He died in the tent that night. It was not recorded what was done with his body, and none of the other members of the polar party survived the return journey.
Edgar Evans is not to be confused with Lieutenant
E.R.G.R. "Teddy" Evans, Scott's second-in-command on the
Terra Nova expedition.
rss feed